Metroid is known for many things, and the atmosphere set by its various title screens is one of them! (right?) We've determined the top 5 Metroid title screens and compiled this list for you!

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Transcript of the video: 

Hi everyone! Kris from Stone Age Gamer here.

After what feels like a lifetime of waiting, Metroid Dread is finally a reality. But it’s got quite a legacy to live up to, in more ways than one. Metroid games are known for a number of things, from music to bosses and more. One thing I’ve always loved about the series is its title screens, and today we’re going to rank them. Now, it’s too early to actually rank Dread in any reasonable capacity because it’s just too new, even for something as short as a title sequence. So maybe we’ll revisit this subject once the game’s been around for a while, but for now it’s off limits.

So without further ado, here’s the stone age countdown of the top 5 Metroid title screens.

#5 Metroid Fusion

The best Metroid title sequences strive to set the eerie tone the Metroid franchise is known for. Where this game’s GBA counterpart Metroid Zero Mission hits you with a very frenetic sounding blast of info, images, and sound. Fusion has the quiet calm the rest of the series is known for, and it sets up the mysterious circumstances of the following game brilliantly. Why did Samus just crash into an asteroid? Just what the heck is going on here? These are the questions you want to be asking during an intro, and Metroid Fusion delivers.

#4 Metroid

This one’s a classic, and its simplicity has been reprised in several other Metroid games over the years. But for my money, no Metroid game has done the static intro better than the original. A lot of folks out there prefer the Famicom Disk System’s audio for this song, but if I’m being honest I vote for the NES game. That instrument choice Hirokazu Tanaka used to make this song just pops and once again does a stellar job of laying the groundwork for the strange, mysterious, and yes creepy adventure Samus is about to embark on. Sure, they spelled Zebes wrong… Zebeth? But whatever. It just adds to the intro’s old school charm.

#3 Metroid Prime

Bringing Metroid to 3D was always going to be a challenge, and I’m still shocked to this day just how incredibly well Retro Studios did in that regard. In almost every respect, Prime plays like a traditional Metroid game brought into the third dimension, and this title sequence is no exception. Seemingly taking place inside of a Metroid itself, the creepy red coupled with the eerie theremin version of the classic title tune is pitch perfect and incredibly memorable. Followed up by the awesome file select music and the way the camera continues to move through the innards of this Metroid, this game has a title screen to remember.

#2 Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

I may not like Metroid Prime 2 nearly as much as I like the first one, but even I can’t deny the unbridled coolness that is this game’s title screen. The music is so eerie and off putting, coupled with the heartbeat sound. And the dark computer typing vibe going on creates an outstanding sense of atmosphere. But even cooler than that is how they play with the letters on screen. The way they turn Retro Studios Game into Metroid Prime 2 is brilliant, and the following transition to an extremely cool rendition of the recurring Metroid Prime theme is nothing short of perfection. Even the crazy sound effect they used when the word Metroid appears on screen is great. They absolutely nailed this one.

#1 Super Metroid

Was there ever any doubt this would take the top spot? Super Metroid is an absolute masterpiece of a game, and it starts showing its brilliance from the moment you power on your Super NES. The single repeating piano note is incredibly creepy, and having the camera pan past a bunch of computers with dead bodies laying in front of them, wow. It’s all coupled with the sounds of the baby Metroid, who takes center stage for a final pan out where we see the scene in full, dead scientists, baby Metroid in captivity, and the title shows up with a deep bass-y sound kicking off Kenji Yamamoto’s stunning rendition of the classic Metroid theme. Even those red letters that say Metroid 3 at the beginning lend an outstanding cinematic horror vibe to the entire affair. It’s genius. Absolute genius.

Well there you have it, folks. The top 5 Metroid title sequences as ranked by me. Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and I’m sure you have yours as well. So sound off in the comments. Thanks for watching. If you liked what you saw here today please follow, like, comment, and subscribe. What are your favorite Metroid title screens? Let us know why you think Federation Force deserves the top spot! Or how crazy I am for not ranking Hunters higher what with those awesome CG rendered character introductions. Either way, thanks again for watching, and on behalf of all of us at Stone Age Gamer, keep playing games.